InBev brews up bid for Bud

STELLA Artois brewer InBev has made an approach to buy Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch in a move that would create the world's biggest brewer by volume.

The £23.40 a share proposal values the US brewer at £23.6 billion. It said it would "review the merits" of a possible tie-up that would incorporate InBevs drinks with their own.

The Missouri-based firm said: "The board will pursue the course of action that is in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch's stockholders."

InBev's Carlos Brito said he saw the combination as a "natural step for both".